This invention relates to the field of aircraft operations and maintenance and in particular to the use of technical logs and/or flight operational information and/or flight crew information to maintain a flight and/or maintenance and/or flight crew history for an aircraft and/or aircraft operator.
Globally, it is estimated that commercial aircraft operators spend nearly U.S. $400 billion per year on operating expenses. There are clear economic reasons, for aircraft operators interested in operational efficiency, to attempt to minimise the cost of fleet maintenance, vendor costs, fuel consumption, crew costs, airport fees and other costs, and to optimise the potential of using any means whereby overall operating expenses may be minimised.
There are four groups of players in the aviation industry:
Aircraft Operators. These include commercial passenger airlines, a sector that can be sub-divided into two broad categories: full service airlines and specialist service providers (such as the low cost airlines or corporate travel specialists). The other two major categories of aircraft operators are freight carriers and national defence forces.
Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). There are four main categories of OEM: Airframes (principally, Boeing and Airbus); Engines (principally, GE, Pratt and Whitney, and Rolls Royce); Avionics (such as Honeywell, Raytheon, Rockwell Collins, etc.); and Components (such as Allied Signal, Hamilton Sundstrand, BF Goodrich, etc.).
Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Providers. There are two main categories of MRO companies: Independents such as FLS Aerospace that provide MRO services to aircraft operators but where the aircraft operator has no proprietary interest in the MRO company, and in-house companies where the principal customer owns the MRO company (e.g. Lufthansa Technik). The MRO sector can also be sub-divided as to the breadth of service offered. Most major MRO companies strive to provide a comprehensive set of services so that an aircraft operator can transfer its complete maintenance operation to the MRO company or select a suite of desired services. Other MRO players specialise in specific MRO activities such as engine overhaul.
Third Parties. These include Governments (through their continued ownership of airlines), Regulators, Airports, and Independent Service Providers.
The outsourcing of non-core activities by aircraft operators continues to be a key strategy in an ever more competitive market. Most major aircraft operators now outsource heavy maintenance services to independent MRO""s, but continue to perform light maintenance in-house. The main reason cited for not outsourcing the complete maintenance cycle is that labour unions prevent it. For this reason aircraft operator owned capacity remains a significant factor in the MRO sector and these owners are seeking to increase their level of 3rd party service provision in order to improve profitability.
The other major reason why aircraft operators are reluctant to outsource all of their maintenance activities is the fear of losing control of information regarding their fleets. Aircraft operator profitability is determined by aircraft utilisation: filling seats with revenue generating payloads and keeping aircraft in the air by minimising maintenance time. So, when an aircraft operator hands its aircraft over to an MRO company it is effectively handing over control of a key profit driver to a third party. (There is also a regulatory imperative on aircraft operators to xe2x80x98managexe2x80x99 the maintenance of their fleets).
Only a few leading aircraft operators have managed to turn their MRO operations into sustainable businesses (e.g. Lufthansa and Air France), although profitability has been marginal at best. All of the major U.S. carriers provided full service MRO to third parties during the 1980s but comparatively few have remained in this business.
There are three core business streams in aviation MRO namely:
Airframe, Engine, Avionics, and Component Overhaul
Line Maintenance and Aircraft Control
Component Management
Overhaul, or heavy maintenance is carried out at MRO hanger facilities. The aircraft is taken out of operation and delivered to the hangar by the aircraft operator. Typically, many activities are then outsourced to third parties such as specialist engine repair shops (who will often further outsource specific engine parts to other specialist outfits). Put simply, the objective is to overhaul the aircraft and get it back into service as quickly as possible.
Line Maintenance and Aircraft Control (Maintrol) is the light maintenance service performed while the aircraft is in operation. It needs to be carried out at all the destination airports flown to by an aircraft operator (including its hub airport). Maintrol activities consist of recording cycles flown, monitoring engine and airframe condition, and replacing components. The key objective of maintrol is to ensure that the aircraft makes its next scheduled take-off.
Component Management is the activity that ensures that an aircraft operator carries the most economically efficient inventory of spare parts. It is a logistical operation designed to ensure that parts will be available at airports when an aircraft needs a part replaced.
The crucial skill in performing all of these MRO activities is not technical competence (as this is a mandated standard) but the ability to share information and co-ordinate activities. Clearly, the process is a distributed activity (overhaul is outsourced along the MRO industry supply chain) and maintrol services are provided at remote airport locations. When an aircraft is in a hangar, the turnaround time can be affected by the performance of the smallest supplier in the chain. When an aircraft is on the ground at an airport, it may have to remain at the airport until the required spare part can be sourced. The upshot of this situation is a disruption to flight schedules and the associated problems that are well known in the industry. Delays can therefore prove very costly not just in a monetary sense, but also with respect to the public perception of the airline.
In comparison to the design and manufacture of airframes, engines and components, the aviation MRO sector is xe2x80x98low-techxe2x80x99. MRO is carried out by a process of dismantling, assessing, repairing and/or replacing. The parts are then put back where they were found. Every process is carried out strictly according to OEM approved procedures and these procedures are supervised and approved by the various regulatory authorities responsible for air travel safety.
That said, the process of aviation MRO is extremely complex and information-intensive. It involves gathering huge quantities of data, detailed planning, and precise logistical control. The management of this process not only determines the efficiency of MRO companies but also directly affects the bottom line profitability of aircraft operators.
The MRO companies, as well as the OEMs and the aircraft operators currently have a variety of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in place to manage the flow of information within their own organisations. However, integration of IT systems between the key players in the industry is almost non-existent. Furthermore, the process of data collection is largely paper based and data input is manual. The source of all maintenance related data is the aircraft. After each landing a Technical Log (a paper form) is completed by a ground engineer and/or a pilot and is signed off by the Captain of the aircraft. These xe2x80x98tech logsxe2x80x99 are then delivered back to the aircraft operator base, conventionally using a returning aircraft, where the details are manually entered into computer systems to generate management reports. Aircraft operators use these reports to manage their fleets and to schedule heavy maintenance checks. When an aircraft is due for a heavy maintenance check, many crates of paper are transferred by aircraft operators to the MRO company, where they are manually entered into the MRO""s IT system.
There can be substantial delays in inputting the data (an operator""s technical records can be anywhere from several days to several weeks xe2x80x9ctime latexe2x80x9d). There is also a great deal of repeated effort and potential for error in entering the same information several times into different systems. Forms are often so illegible that accurate entries to a system cannot be made based on them. Some forms are lost altogether. When issues arise with the accuracy of the data, generally too much time has passed for a satisfactory solution to be obtained.
Communication between industry players endeavouring to monitor the maintenance of aircraft or to source spare parts is still primarily carried out by telephone and fax. Although efforts are being made to update communication systems, progress is slow.
A significant area of the overall process involving paper transactions is that of aircraft technical and operations logs. Typically the data collected spans a number of functional areas, including fuel and load calculations, performance calculations, weight and balance calculations and defect records. The necessity for aircraft operators to complete and return paper records for each flight is time consuming, labour intensive, complicated and can lead to errors. In addition, from a maintenance perspective, the current procedures for returning and entering aircraft technical and/or operational log data can lead to delays in responding to required actions and the possible grounding of aircraft for failure to fix simple faults in time.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved system of collecting aircraft technical log data and/or general aircraft operational data.
The invention provides a device that contains electronic versions of an operator""s existing forms and/or forms beyond the content of conventional forms, including a host of value-added functions as described herein. The device is adapted to link via one or more of a plurality of communication mediums to a server to transmit and receive data and provides an internet-accessible user interface (remote access) that may be used to access and update data stored on the server-side and/or the client-side. The device is preferably rugged, portable and hand held, but may be of any electronic form.
In a first embodiment, the invention provides an aircraft data collection device for use by a plurality of users, each of the users having an associated security level. The data collection device (a remote electronic device) comprising:
a security means for identifying a user and determining their associated security level,
a user interface means adapted to obtain technical and/or operational data associated with an aircraft flight cycle, from one or more of the plurality of users, each item of technical and/or operational data having an associated security level,
wherein the user interface means is adapted to only accept an item of data from a user when the authorisation level of the user at least matches the authorisation level of the item of technical and/or operational data.
Using this arrangement, only persons having a suitable authorisation can enter and/or view and/or update and/or delete data in the appropriate fields of the forms accessible on the device, which is an important requirement for regulatory reasons.
The data collection device may further comprise communication means for communicating entered aircraft technical and/or operational data to an external datastore (for example a remote server).
The communication means may comprise a wire and/or wireless connection terminal for connecting to a network to enable entered aircraft technical and/or operational data to be uploaded to a datastore on a remote server.
The communication means may also comprise a memory reader, e.g. a floppy disk drive, adapted to receive a memory device, e.g. a floppy disk. In addition to or instead of this, the communications means may comprise a flash card, xe2x80x9cdonglexe2x80x9d (a small electronic data storage device, similar in size and appearance to a car alarm control, that typically connects to a computer through a USB port), or other removable data storage device upon which the entered aircraft technical and/or operational data may be stored.
The user interface may be further adapted to display data previously entered by users and/or data received via the communications means. In this situation, the user interface may be further adapted to only display data to users having a security or user level associated with the data to be displayed.
In a further embodiment, an authorisation means may be provided which is adapted to prevent the upload of data to the server until data has been entered for a number of pre-determined sections.
In a further embodiment, the authorisation means may be adapted to enforce process workflow, such as preventing entry of data corresponding to a subsequent aircraft cycle until entered aircraft data associated with the previous cycle has been saved locally on the device and/or transmitted to an external datastore. The logical intuitive process flow can be adapted to mirror the existing aircraft paper-based operation, but also expand on existing functions, creating added value for customers.
In another embodiment, the user interface may contain list menus, which are populated with items appropriate to the individual fields. Preferably, the menus may be populated automatically by reference to a data store. In this way, the system may be updated simply by updating the database without the need to re-code menus.
In a further embodiment, the user interface may comprise a first series of list menus which are populated with items identifying systems of an aircraft which may be selected by a user and wherein upon selection of a system of an aircraft, the user is presented with a subsequent list menu identifying a list of predetermined problems associated with the selected system of the aircraft. Optionally, fields for typed entries may also be provided.
The user interface means optionally comprises a defect reporting system, the defect reporting system comprising:
a menu generation means for generating a hierarchical series of menus,
a user selection means for accepting a user selection from each of the series of menus,
a datastore containing an aircraft parts definition wherein each part of the definition is either a sub-part or contains one or more sub-parts,
wherein upon receipt of a selection from the user input means, the menu generation means generates a menu containing a list of parts of the definition which are identified in the datastore as sub-parts of the user selection.
In a further embodiment of the user interface, the datastore also contains possible faults, each part not having a sub-part being associated with one or more possible faults and wherein upon selection by a user of a part from a menu which has no sub-parts stored on the database, the menu generation means generates a menu comprising a list of possible faults associated with the selected part. Preferably, the datastore associates a code with each part and possible fault. In this case, the user selection means generates an output identifying the part and fault by their respective codes. The part may be identified by its code and/or the code of the part of which it is a subpart.
The invention further provides a method of collecting aircraft data from a plurality of users, each of the users having an associated security level, the method comprising:
identifying a user and determining the user""s associated security level,
obtaining technical and/or operational data associated with an aircraft flight cycle, from the user, each item of technical and/or operational data having an associated security level,
wherein the step of obtaining technical and/or operational data from the user is performed only when the user has an authorisation level at least matching the authorisation level of the item of technical and/or operational data.
Using this method, only persons having a suitable authorisation can enter data in the appropriate fields of the relevant forms, which is an important requirement for regulatory reasons.
The method of collecting aircraft data may further comprise the step of communicating entered aircraft technical and/or operational data to an external datastore.
The step of communicating entered aircraft technical and/or operational data to an external datastore may comprise connecting to a network and uploading entered aircraft technical and/or operational data to a datastore on a remote server.
The step of communicating entered aircraft technical and/or operational data to an external datastore may comprise storing the aircraft technical and/or operational data on a data storage device, e.g. a floppy disk, flash card, dongle, or other data storage device.
The method may further comprise the displaying of data previously entered by users and/or data received. In this situation, displayed data may be restricted to users having a security level associated with the data to be displayed.
In a further embodiment, the step of uploading of data to the server may be prevented until data has been entered for a number of pre-determined sections and/or conditions.
Furthermore, the entering of data corresponding to a subsequent aircraft cycle may be prevented until entered aircraft data associated with the previous cycle has been transmitted to an external datastore or device or until data has been copied onto dongle and/or other removable data storage device.
In a further embodiment, the method may include the provision of a user interface comprising a first series of list menus which may be populated with items identifying sections or systems of an aircraft which may be selected by a user and wherein upon selection of a section or system of an aircraft, the user is presented with a subsequent list menu identifying a list of predetermined problems associable with the selected section or system of the aircraft.
The step of providing the user interface may further comprise a method of defect reporting comprising generating a menu in a hierarchical series of menus from a datastore containing an aircraft parts definition wherein each part of the definition is either a sub-part or contains one or more sub-parts, upon receipt of a selection from the user, the generated menu containing a list of parts of the definition which are identified in the datastore as sub-parts of the user selection.
The method of providing a user interface may comprise the step of storing possible faults in the datastore, and associating faults with and wherein upon selection by a user of a part from a menu which has no sub-parts stored on the datastore, generating a menu comprising a list of possible faults associated with the selected part.
The method may also comprise the step of associating a code with each part and possible fault, wherein the generation of data concerning a part fault identifies the part and fault by their respective codes. The part may be identified by its code and/or the code of the part of which it is a subpart or by some similar convention.
The Invention creates a host of benefits and advantages, not least of which being the improvement of business processes, and the building of efficiencies in a number of key areas. The various advantages and embodiments will be described in the detailed description which follows.